


First Date

by archer_and_lionprince, liddie



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Durincest, Fiki, First Date, Fluff, M/M, Not Related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 02:06:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5479307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archer_and_lionprince/pseuds/archer_and_lionprince, https://archiveofourown.org/users/liddie/pseuds/liddie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After meeting online and exchanging daily messages for a while Fíli and Kíli decide to go out on their first actual date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	First Date

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a little story we've been working on for a while. We hope you enjoy it and feel free to let us know what you think! :)

The screen of the computer illuminates the room and the man reading the message smiles as he triple checks the time and meeting place in an email. After he has them memorized he switches the monitor off and gets to his feet, heading toward the door.

Fíli slides his jacket on and grabs his wallet and keys from the shelf in the entryway. Making sure to grab his phone he flips the light switch off and steps out the door, locking up and heading toward the busy street outside.

 

* * *

 It’s early evening when Fíli makes it to the designated meeting spot. The little park is just across the street from a coffee shop and café that’s not too expensive but still has good food.

Taking a seat on the stone edge of the wide fountain Fíli glances around as he pulls out his phone. He’s about fifteen minutes early but that’s a good thing because it means he’s not late.

A few people wander about the park and Fíli’s leg bounces with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. It’s his first time meeting Kíli in person, although they’ve shared quite a few messages and emails after meeting on an online dating website.

Bard had made the profile for Fíli and after ignoring a lot of questioning looking people Fíli had taken a chance on the one guy who had caught his eye.

He and Kíli had hit it off immediately and although he’d never admit it, Fíli’s grateful that his friend had interfered in his love life. It seems he and Kíli have a lot in common so the blond is eager for their first actual meeting and to learn more about Kíli.

Sliding his phone back into his jacket pocket Fíli hums the song he heard on the radio this morning while he waits.  


* * *

 

Keeping his eyes on his watch Kíli steps out off the bus, almost stumbling over a backpack in his hurry to leave the crowded vehicle. He has about half an hour left before finally meeting Fíli after two months of daily messaging with the other.

Taking a look around to familiarize himself Kíli sees the sign of the shoe store he saw on Google Maps when researching the best route to their meeting place.

Crossing the street and walking down the busy sidewalk Kíli feels a flutter of anticipation and nervousness stirring in his stomach. He really hopes that the instant connection they felt for the other after their first online conversations will still exist after tonight. And maybe they can slowly take the next step to actual dating.

Grinning into his scarf at the thought, Kíli passes store after store and almost walks past his first destination of the evening.

A few people walk past him, grumbling when he stops abruptly and turns around to go into the pharmacy.

It was just his luck that he’d caught a very persistent kind of flu the other day. He tried different home remedies to fight the illness at first but after four days of nothing working he resigned himself to his fate and bought cough syrup and drops. They taste horrible but at least he can now go for two hours without constant coughing, and they helped bring the lingering fever down a bit.

It crossed his mind to tell Fíli that he’s sick and cancel their meeting but Kíli quickly dismissed the thought. He didn't want it to look like as if he didn't want to meet Fíli with a canceled first meeting. So, Kíli decided not to tell Fíli that he’s still got the flu and just took his syrup and drops in hopes that the other wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

After buying a new package of cough drops Kíli quickly walks down the street, having noticed that he only has seven minutes left to be at their designated meeting spot.

As soon as he sees the fountain he slows down, trying to catch his raspy breath.

He coughs into his elbow, startling a young child who is walking past him. Her mother turns and gives him a dirty look.

Rolling his eyes Kíli straightens his jacket and checks the time. Four minutes left.

Looking at the fountain and slowly making his way over, he tries to see if he can recognize Fíli somewhere amidst the people.

And then, after a couple finishes taking their picture and walks away, he sees him.

The blond man he’s only ever seen in pictures sits on the edge of the fountain, facing away from him.

Biting his lip Kíli runs a hand through his tied hair and takes a deep, calming breath.

Swallowing, he moves carefully towards the waiting blond, hands clenched inside his pockets to hide the nervous tremor.

He stops beside Fíli, taking his hands out of his pockets and feeling the cool wind drying his sweaty palms, “Fíli?”

Turning at the sound of his name Fíli glances around before his eyes catch on the brunet man beside him. “Kíli,” he says while getting to his feet, a smile spreading across his face. “Hey.” 

“Hi,” Kíli returns the smile and steps closer to the blond. “I hope you didn’t wait long?” He moves as if to hug Fíli before his brain reminds him that it might be awkward. Instead, Kíli drops his arms and barks out a laugh, looking sheepishly at the other. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know the proper etiquette for hugs on a first date.”

“I think a hug is fine.” Fíli chuckles and lifts his arms to hug the dark haired man. After a few moments he leans back and his cheeks are a bit pink. “And I’ve only been here a few minutes, so I didn’t wait long at all.”

“Good,” Kíli answers and there’s a relieved tinge audible in his voice. He loosens his hold on the blond and lets his arms fall back at his sides, smiling at Fíli all the while. Butterflies started swirling in his stomach as soon as the blue eyes fell on him and now Kíli has a hard time keeping his eyes off of Fíli.

Looking Kíli over Fíli notices that his cheeks and nose are a bit pink and decides that maybe he should stop gawking at the younger man.

So after just a bit of awkward silence Fíli laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry, it’s been forever since I’ve been on a date. Do you want to head over to the café and get something to eat? It’s at least warmer in there.”

As if on cue a cool breeze skims over Kíli’s warm skin and he sighs into his scarf. “That sounds like a good idea.” The brunet nods, “It’s colder than I anticipated.”

“This weather really came out of nowhere,” Fíli says as he leads the way to the crosswalk. They wait for the right signal and then make their way quickly across the street and toward the café.

Opening the door and holding it for Kíli the blond man smiles. “Did it take you long to get here?”

Stepping through the door Kíli thanks the blond, his eyes crinkling into a smile. Warm air and the smell of fresh coffee and food greets them upon entering the café and Kíli can feel the first real tinge of hunger of the day.

Undoing the first buttons of his jacket Kíli turns his head and looks back at the blond man. ”I needed about 25 minutes to get here with the bus. So not very long,” Kíli answers Fíli’s question. “And you?”

Fíli undoes the buttons of his own jacket and glances around the café. “It takes me about twenty minutes but I took the subway.” They walk over to the small line where they will order their food and drinks and then go find a seat.

The café isn’t as busy as it could be and there are lots of open tables. Fíli eyes one up by the window and hopes it will still be available when they go to find their seats.

Turning to Kíli as they wait he notices the brunet’s cheeks and nose are still a bit pink but decides not to comment on it. “Have you ever been here before?”

"No," Kíli shakes his head, clearing his throat when his voice breaks. "But it looks cozy and if the food tastes half as good as it looks then I definitively will be coming back here." The line moves forward and they take a step closer to the counter, their arms brushing when Fíli steps closer to the brunet to let another customer through. "You've been here before, I take it?"

"Just a few times. But everything I've had is really good." Smiling at Kíli and stepping up to the counter Fíli orders a sandwich and soup with a coffee. He steps aside and places his hand lightly on Kíli's back so he can step forward and order. "The soup is really good," he murmurs quietly while leaning in. 

His heartbeat quickening, Kíli blushes at the unexpected closeness to the other man. "I’ll take the soup then," he shudders and repeats his order of wanting the soup and tea to the friendly cashier, only to cross the friendly part from his mind a moment later when he sees how she eyes up Fíli. Shooting her a small glare that she just counters with a smirk, Kíli reaches into his back pocket and takes his wallet out to pay their order.

Before he can hand any money over Fíli gives the cashier a few bills. "I've got it," he says to Kíli with a smile, his body pressing against the younger man's lightly. "My treat for our first date."

The cashier's smile slips a bit at the news but she recovers quickly and puts the money into the drawer, not meeting Kíli's eye again.

Fíli takes the change and number card she hands over and they move down the counter a few steps to collect their drinks before searching out a table.  
  
"Fíli," Kíli starts but the rest of his protest quickly dies on his tongue when he sees Fíli hadn’t changed his mind. "At least allow me to buy you a drink later then." He takes his steaming mug of tea and looks at the blond, then past him towards the free tables. "Do you want to sit over there?" Kíli asks, pointing at a table by the window.

"Yeah, that looks like a good spot," Fíli nods and follows Kíli through the café to the table.

They sit and Fíli places the number card on the table between their mugs as they wait. 

Clearing his throat and grimacing slightly at the resulting pain, Kíli takes a careful sip of his hot tea to soothe the throbbing in the back of his throat. He silently hopes that his voice won't leave him throughout the evening but he can already feel a coughing fit slowly building up in his lungs. He will just have to excuse himself from the table and go to the restroom in a few minutes to take some of the cough syrup.

"So, how was yesterday? You mentioned you had to finish a project?" 

Fíli bites his bottom lip and looks a bit worriedly at Kíli but his question distracts the blond. "Yeah, I had to finish up getting a portfolio ready from the latest shoot but somehow I got it done and I've dropped it off this morning." 

Noticing the worried look Fíli shoots him Kíli straightens in his seat and gives him a smile, drinking more of his tea. "I'd love to see your work someday." Kíli says, and then adds hastily, "But only if you don't mind."

Waving Kíli off Fíli smiles. "I don't mind at all. But I'm not in a gallery or anything; I just keep all my stuff at my place."

Right as Fíli finishes his sentence their number gets called. "I'll go grab that. Do you want more tea?" 

"That'd be great! Thank you," Kíli smiles gratefully, seeing that his former mug of tea is almost empty and then makes to stand as well. "While you're getting our food I'll quickly go to the restroom," he says and leans down to fish the medicine out of his jacket pocket. "Be right back," Kíli smiles and leaves Fíli to get their orders. 

With a last glance at the blond Kíli steps into the restroom, smiling happily to himself. So far the date is going well.

Walking to the sink Kíli opens his half-empty medicine bottle and fills the cap with the bitter tasting cough syrup. Scrunching up his nose he drinks the syrup grudgingly, shuddering at the taste.

Grumbling to himself about horrible medicine making his life miserable Kíli blows his nose before washing his hands. He takes a look at himself in the mirror and decides that he doesn't look that bad, certainly not his best given that he's sick but not so bad that he wants to hide in the restroom.

Running a hand through his hair Kíli gives himself a last once-over before returning to their table, seeing that Fíli is already waiting.

"That smells amazing," Kíli grins, taking his seat again and quickly dropping the bottle back into his pocket.

Fíli sets the new mug of tea by Kíli's plate as well as a glass of water. "I think this soup is my favourite. But of course not better than my Mum's."

The blond picks up his spoon and stirs the hot soup to try and cool it down. Taking a sip of his water Fíli smiles at Kíli. "How's your paper coming?"

"Nothing tastes better than Mum's cooking," Kíli grins in agreement, stirring in his soup. "The paper's coming along fine so far. I only have to travel to Iceland again to get some more data and samples from one of the active volcanoes to finish my work." Kíli says and lifts his spoon, tasting the recommended soup. "Wow, the soup tastes amazing!"

"Isn't it?" Smiling at the brunet Fíli scoots up a bit in his chair. "And I'm still amazed that you get to travel and see all these awesome places for work." Lifting his spoon Fíli blows on the soup and then slips it into his mouth. "Will you leave soon?”

Swallowinganother spoonful of soup Kíli nods and looks to Fíli with excitement. "I’ll leave for Iceland in about a week. I'll stay for a few days, climb down a volcano or two, get some rocks and then I'll be back."

"That sounds like such an adventure," Fíli chuckles as he reaches for his coffee. Kíli looks so excited about his job and it makes Fíli realize how cute his smile is when he's happy. "I hope you have a really good time. Will you take some photos?"

"Thank you. And yes, I'll take loads of pictures," Kíli grins, putting his spoon down and reaching for his tea. "I can show you some when I come back if you're interested?" Kíli offers and is just about to lift his mug when he feels the telltale tickle in the back of his throat. Quickly letting go of the mug Kíli lifts his arm just in time to cough into his elbow.

When Kíli continues to cough Fíli frowns, setting his mug down and leaning in with a worried look. He suddenly notices how tired Kíli looks despite his smile and Fíli reaches out to place a hand over the one Kíli has resting on the table. "Are you okay? That doesn't sound like a little cough."

“'m fine," Kíli says breathlessly after the coughing stops. "Really," he tries to reassure the blond but with the look Fíli is giving him says he's not very convincing.

A bone deep tiredness suddenly overcomes Kíli and he feels hot, so hot. His eyes focus on the hand resting over his and he wonders when that happened.

"Do you feel okay? You look really pale." Fíli moves his hand so he can feel Kíli's forehead with the back of it. "You're burning up, we should go to the hospital.”

"What? No!" Kíli says with a hint of panic in his voice. They can't just break off their date and go to the  _hospital_ because he's got the flu. Their first meeting would be ruined! "That's really not necessary, Fíli." he tries to appease Fíli while secretly missing the cool hand against his forehead. 

"Are you sure? I'd feel bad if you got worse and then missed your trip." Biting his lip Fíli tries to think. "I could stay at the hospital while they checked you over and then help you home." 

"But I don't want to ruin our first date..." Kíli whispers, shoulders dropping in defeat.

"Hey, you wouldn't be ruining anything." Fíli takes Kíli's hand into his own again and squeezes it softly until the younger man looks up at him. "I've had a great time so far and I think on our next date we'll have even more fun. Especially since you'll be feeling better." 

"You’d really want to meet up again?" Squeezing Fíli's hand, Kíli looks hopefully at the other. "I had a great time as well before I mucked it up." He gives Fíli a small smile. "Our next date will be better, promise." Kíli says to the blond before he has to cough again.

"Sorry," he apologizes with a hoarse voice and takes a sip of his water.

"You don't have to apologize, really. And I'd really like to meet up with you again." Fíli gathers up their dishes and puts them onto his tray so he can take it up to the garbage station. "Why don't you put your coat on and I'll take this stuff up so we can head to the hospital, okay?"

Nodding silently, Kíli reaches for his scarf and wraps it around neck. Silently he watches Fíli putting the tray away while slipping into his coat, still feeling somewhat guilty. 

When envisioning their first meeting he always imagined them sitting in a café or a pub with a hot drink in front of them, talking for hours about anything and everything. And at the end of the night they would take a walk through the city before seeing the other off with the promise of a second date.

And now, after the abrupt ending of the date that went totally different than he imagined, he can't believe his luck that Fíli wants to repeat their date.

Stepping beside the table Kíli takes Fíli's coat and scarf from the chair and drapes them over his arm, waiting for the blond to return.

Fíli comes back with a to-go cup and hands it to Kíli with a smile. “Here, I got you some tea with honey for the walk.” His mother always used to make him tea when he had a bad cough so he hopes it will help Kíli a little. Taking his coat and scarf Fíli puts them on and nods to the door. “Ready to go?”

"Yes," Kíli nods, tucking a strand of his dark hair behind his ear and taking the cup in his hand with a grateful smile. 

He follows Fíli out of the café and shudders when the cool air of the late evening hits him. Turning towards Fíli he asks, "Do you know which way we have to go?"

Giving Kíli a smile Fíli nods to the left. “The hospital is just a few streets over. My friend Bard just became a dad for the first time so I’ve been there to visit a few times.” Fíli leads Kíli along the sidewalk and when their hands brush he reaches out and takes Kíli’s.

Blushing lightly and hoping he can blame it on the cool air Fíli looks at Kíli. “Is this okay?”

Feeling his ears heating up Kíli smiles shyly at Fíli and intertwines their fingers. "It's more than okay." He keeps his eyes on Fíli's face for a few more seconds, thinking about how adorable the blond looks with his slightly red cheeks and wind-mussed hair.

Clearing his throat Kíli averts his eyes again when he realizes that he was staring at Fíli a bit too long. He's just glad that his face can't get any redder. 

"So um, your friend. He must be really proud to be a father. Is it a girl or a boy?"

“A girl. Sigrid.” Fíli tightens his hold on Kíli’s hand a bit and chuckles. “He was so nervous about holding her but when she was set into his arms he was completely relaxed.”  

Leading Kíli down the next street they see the hospital building a few blocks down. “How are you feeling?”

"Sounds like he's a natural," Kíli grins and leans a bit closer to Fíli. "And I don't feel any worse than I did yesterday or the day before. Oh—look!" Kíli tugs the blond towards the window of a sports shop excitedly and looks at a pair of ice skates. "They have the removable LED lights for ice skates. And for a decent price, too! I have to come back here tomorrow and buy them! When I saw them for the first time on a guy’s skates I wanted them so bad. But I never found them for a decent price." Kíli points at the small device flashing in different colours, showing Fíli what he means.

Looking at the flashing lights Fíli smiles. "We could stop in quick, so you don't have to go out of your way tomorrow." Kíli looks cute in his excitement and his flushed cheeks make Fíli think that maybe stopping inside to warm up wouldn't be so bad.

"Nah, it's okay. Now that I know where to find them I can come back for them later." Kíli turns away from the window with one last glance at the flashing lights and then looks down the busy street. "Should we move along? Or is there something you'd like to see while we're still near all the shops?" He asks and brings the mug Fíli gave him earlier to his lips, sighing at the wonderful taste.

“We can keep going, I’d hate for you to have another coughing fit. Maybe next time we can do a bit of shopping. The holidays are coming far too quickly for me.” Squeezing Kíli’s hand Fíli leads them down the street once again.

"I know what you mean," Kíli chuckles. "You think you have lots of time until Christmas and then later you suddenly notice there's only a week left to buy the presents." 

“Exactly. And I like to try and have everything done a few weeks before Christmas so we’ll see how it goes this year.” They walk in through the glass doors of the hospital and luckily there aren’t many people in the waiting area. Kíli goes to check in and Fíli hangs back to wait as the brunet talks to the receptionist.

After only a few moments the younger man comes back with a clipboard of forms to fill out while he waits and they go into the waiting room to sit. “At least it’s not too busy. It looks like you won’t have to wait so long.”

"Thank god for small mercies." Kíli sighs in relief and begins to fill out the forms, coughing and sniffling now and then while writing. Some of the questions are putting a frown on his face as he either has no clue what they mean or he doesn't know if he’s ever had a certain illness or if his family is prone to it. Both of his parents are adopted and have no information’s about their own parents. 

In the end Kíli returns the clipboard with some of the questions left unanswered. 

Sagging into his seat Kíli takes the warm cup of tea Fíli held for him into his hands again. "Thanks _._ I really appreciate you coming with me …but you don’t have to stay. It might be an hour or more and I don’t want you to feel obligated to stay with me.”

“It’s no problem,” Fíli murmurs. The hard plastic seats can’t be comfortable for Kíli since he’s already not feeling well. “Are you cold?”

Shuffling around in his seat Kíli shrugs. "Right now I feel pretty warm but if you ask me in a few minutes again I'll probably tell you the opposite." 

Peering up at Fíli through his bangs Kíli feels touched at seeing the apparent concern for him clouding the blue eyes. Not breaking eye contact Kíli bites on his lip, moving up in his seat. "Do you, ah, do you mind if I lean against you a little? These chairs are horrible."

"I don't mind at all." Giving Kíli a reassuring smile Fíli lifts his arm so the brunet can lean against his side. Once he’s settled Fíli rests his arm along Kíli’s shoulders and thanks his luck that the blush rising to his cheeks goes unnoticed. "Comfy?"

"Very! Thank you," Kíli murmurs, sagging into Fíli's side and resting his head on his shoulder. Tiredly he closes his eyes and every time he breathes in he can smell the subtle scent of Fíli's shampoo. 

After a few moments of comfortable silence between them and Kíli enjoying the way Fíli holds him he asks, "Where do you want our next date to be?"

Fíli’s nice and warm with Kíli leaning against him and the plastic chair isn’t so bad anymore. The thought of going on another date also helps and he pauses to think it over.

An idea comes to mind and Fíli can’t help but smile. “Maybe we could go ice skating? If you’re feeling well enough to be out in the cold again.”

Lifting his head a bit to look into Fíli's eyes Kíli smiles brightly. "That'd be awesome! Do you want to go before I leave for Iceland or when I come back? Or do you have another shooting coming up?" Kíli asks, too lost in his excitement to notice how close he’s gotten to Fíli's face.

Fíli’s eyes flick down to Kíli’s lips for a second. “I have a two-day shoot next week. But we could go when you get back. That would give us both something to look forward to.” He thinks about kissing the brunet but pulls back a bit. Kíli’s still sick and it wouldn’t do either of them any good if he caught the younger man’s cough and then couldn’t go on their next date.

Only when Fíli pulls back does Kíli notice just how close they had been. Ducking his head he blushes furiously and hides his face in Fíli's shoulder. His heart is beating wildly in his chest, and after what feels like forever it slowly returns to its normal pace.

Sighing into Fíli's soft coat the brunet turns his head around again, hoping that things didn't get awkward between them now.

"Sounds good to me," he mumbles with another sniffle. "What's your shoot about?"

Fíli’s blush still colours his cheeks and ears when he feels Kíli bury into him even further. After a few moments when they’ve both calmed down he starts a bit at Kíli’s question. “Oh, I’m doing a few landscape shots in the country. Someone has commissioned them for a new office.”

"Sounds nice," Kíli hums. "Do you know what you want to take pictures of already? Will you take pictures of mysterious hills with mist covering the ground or wide fields in the winter sun?" He asks with honest curiosity, thinking of Fíli standing in a field with the sun at his back.

Fíli chuckles and gently leans his head against Kíli's. "Fields in the winter sun. And there's a lake I want to get in the early evening light." When Kíli hums the blond can't help but smile. Maybe someday they'll be able to go to a shoot together. 

A woman in blue scrubs comes into the room a few minutes later and calls Kíli's name with a smile. "The doctor will see you now, if you're ready."

“I’m coming,” Kíli nods to the nurse even if he doesn’t feel ready in any way to get poked and prodded by a stranger. Sitting up and moving away from Fíli’s comfy embrace Kíli stands up. Immediately a wave of dizziness hits him and he stumbles a step forward, all sounds muffling into white noise for a fraction of time.

Taking a deep breath Kíli waits for the nauseating feeling to go away before turning back to Fíli with a shaky smile. “Do you want to wait here or come with me? I wouldn’t mind the company.”

Fíli gets up quickly and settles his hand on Kíli's back to steady him. "I'll come, if you don't mind." He shoots the nurse a worried look and wraps his arm around the brunet's waist as they make their way down the hall. 

The nurse leads them into an empty room, asking Kíli to take a seat on the cot and to strip down to his t-shirt.

Kíli does as he’s asked and takes off his coat and sweater, giving them to Fíli who offers to hold them and sits onto the cot. The nurse comes and takes his blood pressure and temperature, scribbling the results down on her clipboard with her brows pulled into a deep frown. “The doctor will come in a minute.” She says with a tired smile and walks out of the room, leaving the two of them alone.

“And the second round of waiting begins,” Kíli grins at Fíli who’s sitting in one of the chairs.

"I'm not sure if it'll be a longer or shorter wait this time," Fíli chuckles as he looks around. The room is very sparse and boring with only a few posters about medicines and different bones on the walls. "But it's better to stay positive."

“Agreed,” Kíli laughs silently, rubbing his bare arms. “Why is it suddenly so cold in here?” He pouts, talking more to himself than to Fíli. “Could you hand me my sweater, please?” Kíli asks as he slides to the edge of the cot, the paper beneath him crinkling under the rough treatment. He leans forward and stretches his arm out, waiting patiently for Fíli to untangle his sweater from the coat.

Handing over Kíli's sweater Fíli smiles when their fingers brush. "You'd think they would have the heating on in here," he says while sitting back onto his plastic chair, which is also cold. 

“No kidding,” Kíli agrees, his voice sounding muffled through the fabric of his sweater.

Pulling the sweater down over his face Kíli starts to cough harshly. The cough seems to continue forever and at the end Kíli feels breathless, his knuckles white where they’re gripping the edge of the cot. “I hate this,” he moans, gasping for breath.

“Hate is such a strong word,” a voice says as the doctor enters the room, followed by a younger man in a matching white coat. The doctor is short with graying brown hair that’s sticking up on both sides. “Hello Kíli, let me just check those lungs first thing.”

Holding the end of the stethoscope up to Kíli’s chest the doctor wrinkles his nose and instructs Kíli to take a few deep breaths. “Not good,” he mutters to himself, his assistant jotting something down on the clipboard he’s holding.

Fíli keeps quiet from the other side of the room as the doctor fusses with Kíli and asks him questions. Watching them Fíli frowns when he notices how tired and worn out Kíli looks. They’ll have to hurry home and he decides that he’ll walk Kíli to the door.

“Quite the nasty cough you got there, young man,” the doctor, who’s nametag reads _R. Brown_ , says and keeps his hands on Kíli’s neck to feel the swollen lymphatic glands. “And your fever is alarmingly high.”

“And what does that mean?” Kíli asks nervously, stealing a glance at Fíli.

“First, we’ll treat you with an infusion and give you antibiotics,” Dr. Brown nods to himself, moving along the cabinets in search for said meds.

Kíli watches half amused and half concerned the odd behavior of the physician until the assistant steps in and shows Dr. Brown the right cabinet. “Aha! Thank you Sebastian. And now shoo. Go and bring me the infusion for our patient.” The doctor waves his young assistant out of the room with a flick of his hands.

“Now this will only pinch a bit,” he warns Kíli before putting a needle into his hand, the brunet stiffening at the strange feeling. “Don’t like needles do you?”

Shaking his head Kíli looks away from his hand, “Just not a big fan of having a needle in my hand.”

Patting Kíli’s shoulder the doctor smiles at Fíli, “Maybe if you’re boyfriend holds your free hand you’ll forget all about the needle in your other hand.” **  
**

Fíli's cheeks colour lightly at the assumption but he can't help but feel a twinge of happiness at the doctor’s assumption. Glancing at Kíli he bites his lip and gets up from his chair to walk over to them. 

He really doesn't mind holding Kíli's hand or anyone thinking they're boyfriends. And honestly, it's probably better they don't confuse the doctor more.

Slipping his hand beneath Kíli's free one Fíli smiles, rubbing his thumb gently across the back of Kíli's hand. "You're doing great." 

Kíli gives the blond a shy smile, glad for Fíli’s presence. He opens his mouth to say something but before he can the assistant walks back into the room and helps the doctor to set up the infusion.

“We’ll let this run through and hope that your fever will drop in the next hour. If not you’ll have to stay the night, I fear.” The doctor informs them, injecting the meds into the bag. “I’ll come back in an hour and if your fever is in an acceptable range I’ll send you home with a few prescriptions to help with your bronchitis.” He says to Kíli, rolling back on his chair and standing up.

“Should there be a problem, just shout for a nurse,” the assistant adds quickly before following Dr. Brown out of the room.

Staring after them, Kíli looks at the infusion bag and then at Fíli, “Let’s hope this infusion does its magic then.”

"I'm sure it will help," Fíli says with a smile. "The doctor seemed to know what he was doing, at least with his assistant's help." Without taking his hand from Kíli's the blond man sits down on the cot beside him.

Laughing, Kíli tips sideways toward Fíli until their shoulders touch. ”It was one of the strangest and most amusing things I’ve seen. The poor assistant, though.” Kíli chuckles, “It can’t be easy with a teacher like Dr. Brown.” Kíli says, noting that his voice is turning raspy again and looks around for the rest of his tea. ”Did you ever have a teacher like him?” He asks, spotting the cup on a small tray behind him and reaching for it carefully as not to rip the infusion out accidentally.  

Fíli watches to make sure Kíli won't hurt himself and let's out a little sigh of relief when the brunet gets a hold of the cup. "I don't think I've had a teacher quite like him, but he does seem fun. What about you?"

“Hmm…“ Kíli hums thoughtfully, resting the cup of tea on his knee. “Not a teacher, but my parents have a neighbour that reminds me a bit of the doctor. His name is Dr. Grey.”

"Maybe they are colleagues," Fíli jokes lightly, brushing a hand through his hair. "You never know."

Tilting his head Kíli thinks about it for a moment. “They might well be,” Kíli says with a thoughtful look. “I’ll ask him the next time I see him!” He decides, thinking of the next time he’ll be going to visit his parents.

They talk for a while about this and that, sharing smiles, laughter and stories.

A few minutes later there’s a knock on the door and they both look at the doctor entering, the hour already over.

“Now, my lad, let’s take another look at you,” the doctor waddles over to Kíli, checking the infusions bag first before turning his attention on the brunet man. “How are you feeling? Better? Or still the same?”

Tightening his grip on Fíli’s hand when he notices that the blond wants to move away, Kíli sends him a pleading look and answers the doctor, “I feel a bit better, not as hot as before… and things don’t seem as muffled as before… if that makes sense.” He answers a bit unsure, uncertain how to describe the symptoms he’s feeling.

Nodding, Dr. Brown takes his stethoscope and holds it up to Kíli’s chest, “I understand what you mean. The fever’s been addling with your mind and now that it went down everything is becoming clearer again, but to make sure that you’re fever really went down I’ll check your temperature in a minute.”

While listening to the doctor, Kíli takes a few deep breaths like Dr. Brown instructed the last time.

“Well, your lungs sound the same but that was to be expected.”

Sliding his finger along the back of Kíli’s hand Fíli listens to the doctor. ”Is there anything you can do to help with his lungs? He has to travel soon and I’d hate for him to get sick again.” He bites his lip and realizes that it’s not his place to ask such a thing, his hand tightening a bit.

Kíli looks at Fíli, a look of surprise crossing his face before his lips twitch into a smile.

“I’ll prescribe him an antibiotic that should help clear the lungs. Apart from that plenty of bedrest and tea should take care of the rest.” Dr. Brown informs them, searching through three drawers before finding the medical thermometer and taking Kíli’s temperature.

“You’re fever’s gone down at least.”

“Uhm, but will the bedrest be enough? I’m flying to Iceland in a week like my—like Fíli said earlier.” Kíli asks nervously.

“Beautiful country, if a bit cold at times,” The doctor muses, “If you stay in bed and don’t do anything strenuous I don’t see any reason why you can’t go, _but_ ,” Dr. Brown looks up sternly from the desk where he is filling his prescription. “Take warm clothes, tea and the remaining meds with you and don’t forget to take them!”

“I won’t,” Kíli promises, hunching his shoulders a bit under the scrutinizing look of the doctor.

"I'll make sure he takes them," Fíli tells the doctor with a nod. Squeezing Kíli's hand he lets it go and moves his arm around to rub the brunet's back. "He'll take it easy and have all the tea he can drink." **  
**

Heat prickles in Kíli’s cheeks. The thought of Fíli caring for him is sending mixed waves of embarrassment and comfort through him, but then he quickly reminds himself that Fíli will probably just text or call him to remind him of his meds and that there’s no reason to worry about the state of his flat now.

He gets pulled out of his thoughts when he suddenly starts to cough again, completely missing the list of instructions the doctor is giving Fíli.

“—And here is my number, in case his asthma comes back.”

Kíli’s eyes go wide, his heartbeat speeding up. “But I haven’t had an asthma attack since I was sixteen! It can’t come back now, can it? I thought it was gone…” Kíli interrupts, worried. He was so relieved when his asthma vanished after hitting puberty and surely it couldn’t come back now.

“Lad, there’s always a chance that it might come back,” Dr. Brown says, his bushy eyebrows rising up. “But don’t worry too much about it, it’s only a precaution.”

“All right,” he nods unsure, still feeling queasy about the news. He still has his old asthma inhaler stored somewhere in his bathroom but it’s been years since he has seen it.

“There, there Kíli,” mumbles the old man as he hands over the prescription, “Let your boyfriend take you home and you’ll see that there’s nothing to worry about.”

Leaning against Fíli the brunet nods silently, staring at the odd scrawl on his prescription and trying to push the thoughts about his childhood sickness at the back of his mind.

Fíli can feel that Kíli’s mood is dropping even further and he wraps an arm around the brunet. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it will be okay.” He squeezes his arm gently. “We’ll get you home and in bed so that you can get better in no time.”

The doctor nods and murmurs his goodbyes, making Kíli promise to take his meds again before he slips out of the room. Fíli leans back a bit and smiles softly at Kíli. “Let’s get you home and into bed, okay?”

Kíli nods, smiling weakly at Fíli when he turns around. “Thank you for staying,” he murmurs and brushes his nose over the blonds’ scratchy cheek, allowing himself a moment of boldness. 

Leaning back a smile graces his lips, knowing that not only his cheeks are red again. If there weren’t a scary needle in his hand he would laugh at the situation. He believes that he never blushed so much in a single day all his life, let alone around one man.

He sees that Fíli wants to say something, but the older man closes his mouth when a nurse walks into the room and purposefully strides towards Kíli. She explains that she’s going to remove the needle and before Kíli can even blink or think about it the needle and nurse are gone again and only a small band-aid is left on the back of his hand.

“Huh,” Kíli looks surprised at his hand and then at Fíli. “That was quick.”

"They really don't waste much time here." Fíli looks down at the band-aid on Kíli's hand and shrugs after a few moments, looking back up at the brunet. "At least you can curl up in bed and rest for a while."

Sliding to his feet Fíli tilts his head and gives Kíli a knowing look as he grabs the younger man's coat. "After you take your medicine, of course."

Smiling sheepishly Kíli ducks his head a little and wraps his scarf around his neck. “I won’t forget to take them. Maybe I’d feel too lazy to take them but I wouldn’t forget,” he mumbles into his scarf, taking his coat from the blond man. “But this time I’ll take them,” He adds hastily when Fíli looks at him with raised brows. ”I promised to do so after all.”

"I'm glad to hear it." Reaching up absently Fíli fixes Kíli's scarf and the collar of his coat a bit, then drops his hand. "You'll be good as new in no time," he says with a warm smile and sure nod.

“I hope so,“ Kíli replies with a smile, coughing slightly into his scarf. “I have to be fit for my trip and our next date after all.”

"That's right," Fíli murmurs with a smile, taking Kíli's hand again and squeezing it softly. 

They make their way out of the room and then back to the main office, checking in with the woman behind the desk about payments for the prescription and getting Kíli’s meds. Fíli stands a few steps behind Kíli as he sorts things out and once the brunet turns to him again Fíli smiles and takes his hand as they walk out into the evening air.

The fresh is refreshing and the antiseptic smell of hospital quickly leaves their noses.

Kíli takes a deep breath, coughing slightly when the cold air aggravates his lungs and checks the time on his phone. He sees that he’s gotten a message from Ori but chooses to ignore it until he’s home. The text message most likely contains prying questions about his date and he doesn’t want to deal with his nosy friend right now.

“Are you sure you want to come back to my place? It’s getting late and I’d feel bad if you have to make a big detour just to see me home.” Kíli asks after putting his phone back, nibbling nervously on his lower lip.

"It's no problem at all," Fíli assures him. "Just a few extra stops on the subway. And I'd much rather see you home safely and with a cup of tea than worry about you all night." **  
**

Ducking his head at Fíli’s kindness Kíli smiles, a warm feeling spreading through him. “Then let’s head to the nearest subway station. It feels like it’s colder than earlier.” The brunet shudders and buries his nose in his warm scarf. “Down there it’ll be at least a bit warmer.”  
  
Nodding in agreement Fíli leads Kíli along the sidewalk. "Good idea, you need all the warmth you can get." 

“I believe that I’m not the only one who needs the warmth,” Kíli notes, pointing at Fíli’s face with a broad smile. “I mean, you look very cute with a red nose but I don’t want you to get sick, too.”

A laugh bubbles up in Fíli's chest and he reaches up to feel his own nose. A light blush spreads across his cheeks. "I'll be okay. I have a good immune system and I'm stubborn," he says with a wink.

“Just try not to be as stubborn as me. I was lucky that they guy I’m dating is so nice and even accompanied me to the hospital,“ Kíli smiles fondly at the other man, squeezing Fíli’s hand.

Fíli squeezes Kíli’s hand back and bumps their shoulders with a smile. “He doesn’t sound so bad.” 

Chuckling they walk down the stairs that will lead them to the subways, the warm air feeling like balm on their cold skin. They head towards the ticket machine and Kíli waves Fíli off when he sees him reaching for his money, telling him that he’ll take care of it and pays their tickets.

“Line three is down there,” Kíli says and points to a tunnel with one flickering light amidst the yellow lamps.

Fíli nods and they head toward the tunnel. “It’s much warmer down here. And not as crowded as when I came to meet you.”

Nodding in understanding Kíli leads them to another set of stairs. “At certain times it’s insane. That’s why I took the bus today.”

They walk down the stairs and once they’re on the platform Kíli looks to the destination board to see that their train will arrive in about two minutes. “Looks like the train will be here soon,” he says, sniffing a bit and taking a fresh tissue out of his pocket.

Fíli nods and bumps his shoulder against Kíli’s so the younger man can lean against him a bit.

“You know,” Kíli begins, wiping his nose one last time before throwing the tissue into the bin nearby and turning his eyes back to Fíli. “When we get back to my place, do you—ah, do you want to come in for some tea? I mean, it’s pretty cold out and you can warm up a bit at my place before you have to leave.” Kíli asks the blond, wringing his hands nervously. “I’ve got this really tasty tea from abroad you have to try …and I want to thank you for not ditching me after seeing that I’m sick.” He finishes with a mumble that almost got swallowed by the loudly approaching train.

Their train pulls up to the platform and the doors open, letting out a few people and wave of warm air.  
  
Once everyone has cleared away Fíli smiles and reaches to take one of Kíli's hands, leading him through the doors and onto the train. "I'd really like that. Tea sounds great and something warm will probably do us both good."

They share a smile and the doors close a few seconds later, the train carrying them away toward Kíli's flat.


End file.
